Apparatus for making ammonia.



Patented Oct. 24, I899.

C. F ELLNE R 8:. J. STEIMLE.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING AMMONIA.

(Application filed Dec. 29, 1897.)

4 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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Patented Oct. 24, I899. C. FELLNEB &. J. STEIMLE. APPARATUS FOBMAKINGAMMONIA.

(Application filed Dec. 29, 1897.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2,

Patented Oct. 24, I899.

C. FELLNER &. J. STEIMLE. APPARATUS FOR MAKING AMMONIA.

(Application filed Dec. 29, 1897.)

4 Sheets8heet 3,

(N0 Mod'el.)

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(Application 816d Dec. 29, 1897.)

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(No Model.)

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NITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

CHRISTIAN FELLNER AND J OHANN STEIMLE, OF FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN,GERMANY, ASSIGNORS TO FELLNER & ZIEGLER, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS'FOR MAKING AMMONIA.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 635,308, dated October24, 1899. Application filed December 29,1897- Serial No. 664,281. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern: tremity through stuffing-boxes l 2. Both in-Be it known that we, CHRISTIAN FELLNER lets are protected against dirt,the inlet-tube and J OHANN' STEIMLE, subjects of the Embeing directedupward and covered by a cap peror of Germany, residing at Frankfort-on-0 The outlet-tube D may be protected in 5 the-Main, Germany, haveinvented new and the same manner or by a partition 3 in the usefulImprovements in Apparatus for EX- retort across the opening in the tubein the tracting Ammonia and By-Products from Nishape of a sieve. Adust-collector (1 may be trogenous Organic Materials, of which the usedin the gas-conducting tube outside the following is a specification.retort; but in this case the collectormust be 1a This invention has beenpatentedin France, heated, as at T, in order to prevent the gase- No.245,122, dated February 14, 1895; in Hunous products from precipitating.gary, No. 4,755, dated December 5, 1895; in The wall of the retort A isprovided with Austria, No. 2,944/47, dated July '7, 1897, longitudinalor cross ribs 4 5, or both, in orand No. 3,878/47, dated September 13,1897; der to strengthen the walls and allow them to 6 [5 in England, No.12,614, dated May 21, 1897, be made thin and light, and at the same timeand No. 17,644, dated July 27, 1897; in Canthe transmission of heat bythe thin wall and ada, No. 55,128, dated May 8, 1896, and in the ribswill be greater and the elevated tem- Germany, No. 92,711, dated April10, 1897, perature will be less injurious to the wall by and No. 93,741,dated June 18, 1897. its combination with the ribs. 20 Our inventionrelates to an apparatus used In order to loosen the charge within theresingly or in a connected series for the treattort, the parts of whichare carried upwardly ment of nitrogenous substances, especially by therevolving of the retort and drop down of a combustible nature, such aspeat and the again through the center thereof, we provide like; and itschief object is the extraction of a cage made of spring-rails 6 or usesome simi- 25 ammonia from said substances by succeslar devices. Y

sively drying the .raw material, then slowly The retort is carried'ateach end upon rollcoking (smothering and distilling) the dried ers-8 bya circular flange 7, and a toothed material, and finally steaming theremaining ring 9 at one end gears with suitable mechanproduct. Under thesteaming action the ism to rotate the retort. Both openings of 3o cokedmaterial generates water, gas, and amthe oven, through which the retortprojects monia, and the latter is separated from the outside, are calkedby means of divided former by absorption. rings 12.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 The best device for filling andemptying shows a single oven and retort in longitudithe retort we havefound to beafeeding-screw 3 5 nal section. Fig. 1 is a view of theportion 10, mounted inside the retort along the cylinof the apparatusbeyond the line XXof Fig. drical wall of the same. This screw is pro- 1,this portion being omitted from Fig. 1 longed outside one of theextremities of the from lack of space. Figs. 1, 1 1, 1, and 1 retort andhas a casing 11, and its axle passes show modifications of means forwashing the through the same and is put in motion from 40 gas andfreeing it from impurities. Fig. 2 is a outside by any suitable drivingmeans.

diagram showingaseries orabatteryof ovens The casing 11 is provided witha lateral and retorts connected so as to utilize the socket 12, which isopened for the charging gases and vapors generated more economicoremptying of the retort. In charging in the ally. Fig. 3 is a sectionalView of one of the upper position of the socket it connects with 45ovens and retorts of the battery. the hopper E through the pipe 6 andtube c \Ve will first describe the single oven and and in the positionshown in Fig. 1 the conretort and then the series or battery. The tentsof the retort are emptied through the cylindrical retort A is rotatablearound its pipe f and the connecting-piece f into the horizontal axleinside of the oven B. The movable vessel F. I00 50 steam-inlet C and theoutlet tube D for the The oven B is provided with a heatinggaseousproducts enter the retort at each eX- chamberb,andinside of thistheretort rotates.

e have shown in the drawings that the heating is done by gas. Thisenters the mixing and igniting chamber b from the gassupply pipe IIthrough the stop-cock b while heated air for combustion flows at thesame time into the chamber b through the aireonducting pipe G. Theignited mixture reaches the flame-chamber b and after having passedthrough the openings 1)" circulates around the retort in theheating-chamber b, after which it flows through the openings 11 and theeollecting-chambcr I) into the flue If. The initial part of the air-tubeG is located in the line b for the purpose of heating the aireconomically by means of the heating-gases flowing into the chimney. Theinlet-pipe O of the retort is connected with the steam'pipe J by meansof the stop-cock i. The outletpipe D may be connected successivelyduring the process by means of the stop-cocks 7; l m with theoutlet-pipe K for steam during the drying process, with the outlet-pipeL for the products of dry distillation during the coking, and with thepipe M for the mixture of water, gas, and air during the steaming. \Vecan also use to advantage a water-reservoir instead of thedust-collector (Z to free the gases of the steaming process of dust,precaution being taken that the water can under no circumstances enterthe retort.

As shown in Fig. 1, the reservoir (1 is divided in two equal parts bymeans of a partition (Z extending into the water. The gases enter thereservoir 25 and flow out at t, while (1 indicates a perforated plate ofsheet metal serving for bursting the larger gas-bubbles and to offer asurface as large as possible to the washing which occurs within thewatereolumn traversed by the bubbles.

\Vhen the pressure of the gas commences to produce an effect at t, thewater-level will have two different elevations, as shown in Fig. 1, thegas entering through the perforated sheet-metal plate d where the largerbubbles will burst, and thereafter it passes through the water-column 0cand escapes at i. The dust precipitates into the reservoir (1 and isremoved from there from time to time through an opening which may beclosed by a manhole-cover. If the pressure at i becomes less than thatat t, the difference of the two water-levels will be reversed (see Fig.1)that is, instead of rising at the left the water will rise at theright of the partition at an elevation equal to 1.73, and atmosphericair or gas will pass from i through the perforated plate (Z and thewater-column and continue to enter the retort until the pressure iscompensated or until a higher pressure exists at t than at t by thenewly-generated gas.

In order to prevent an increase of the quantity of water bycondensation, the overflow apparatus (shown in Fig. 1) is provided. Itconsists of the pipe r, connected with the reservoir d, which issues ina second pipe 3, which is at least as high as the highest elevation thatcan be reached by the water-column. Vhen the water rises higher than thepoint it it will run out through 0' into the pipe 3 and will be drivenupward therein with a pressure corresponding to the pressure existing int. The water runs out at the point 5', and the quantity thereof thatruns out into the vessel a will be equal to that which has accrued inthe apparatus by condensation. The vessel it contains sulfuric acid forabsorbing the free ammonia or carbonate of ammonia that may be let intothe water.

For larger retorts it is advisable to wash the gas several times, andthis is illustrated in Fig. 1 Here a series of partitions d are insertedin addition to the partitions (P, which do not touch the cover of thereservoir d, but leave full space for the passing of the gas. Thesepartitions (Y plungc considerably deeper in the water than the partition(Z and come so high above the said water that they are higher than theelevation :23, which is caused by the pressure. The gas passing throughthe water will also pass through the perforated plates (1 between thepartitions d d, and the dust which has been carried along after thefirst washing will be removed by the second washing, and so on. As thequantity of water remains the same and as the separate cells areconnected, the entire mass of Water will soon be saturated with ammonia,which, however, will be driven out because the water will be heated bythe gases.

Inasmuch as the conduit-pipe J is used only during the third phase ofthe process, the conduit-pipe K only during the first phase, the pipe Iionly during the second, and M only during the third phase, the operationof the retort is not a continuous operation. In order to make the samecontinuous, a number of retorts are arranged as a battery. Fig. 2 showsa diagrammatic view of such a battery comprising (3 retorts, as aninstance, while Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through one of theovens. The arranging of the retorts in a elosed'circle, as in Fig. 2,facilitates the inspection of the pipes.

The conduit-pipes H, J, K, L, and M are arranged in a battery as aclosed circular conduit, connected with each retort. We also provide forthe passage of the steam generated by the drying process through theconduit K to the superheater R, and from thence into the conduit .I, sothat the generating of superheated steam requires only the heatnecessary for the superheating. The superheater is heated by means ofgas from the conduit 11, and the waste gases are used for heating thedust-collectors d of the different retorts, passing through the pipe Tto each retort before entering chimney S or the smoke-pipe P. Startingfrom the chamber 6 each oven is in connection with the common smoke-pipeP, which connection can be cut off by means of a valve 19. Saidsmoke-pipe P is arranged between the last oven and the chimney forheating the combustive air, and this air flows through the pipe G intothe separate ovens. In order to be able to heat one oven with the wastegases of another or in succession, a series of other ovens, each ovenstarting from the chamber 19 is connected with the next oven by means ofa pipe N,which can be shut off by means of a valve. In order that thesuccessive heating of the ovens from one fireplace be not limited to theovens in the immediate vicinity, but that one or more ovens can bepassed-for instance, those that must not be heated or must remain out ofoperationa pipe 0 is arranged, which makes the circuit of all the ovens,and with this pipe the chamber 19 is connected in such a manner that itcan be shut off by a valve 0. If, for instance, it is required to conveythe heating-gases of the first oven to the third, passing the secondoven, the valves a and p in the first oven are kept closed and the valve0 open, and in the second oven the valve 19 is closed and the valves 0and a open, so that the gases starting from the valve 0 of the firstoven reach the chamber 11 of the third oven, passing through the pipe 0,through the valves 0 and n of the second oven, and through thetransmission-pipe N. Of course care must be taken that air does notenter from the pipe G into the second oven, as this must also be thecase, more or less, with the third oven heated by the waste gases of thefirst oven.

It is desirable that one of the retorts constituting the battery be inthe stage of being emptied and of being filled again. Part of the othersmust be in the stage of the drying, another part in the coking stage,and a third part in the stage of the steaming. The coking process willgenerally require so little time that one retort in that stage willgenerally be sufiicient, while the drying process and the steamingprocess will have to occur simultaneously in several retorts, the formeraccording to the contents of Water in the material and the latteraccording to the nitrogen in the same, said process being gradual fromthe first stage to the last.

We have supposed in the drawings that the retort A is empty and beingfilled again; that the drying process is effected in the retort A andthe dry distillation in the retort A while the retort A is in the firststage of steaming, the retort A in the second stage, and the retort A inthe final stage thereof. As can be seen by the arrows in the ovens, theretort A is heated directly because the separating of the last vestigesof nitrogen requires the most heat. The waste gases will then distributetheir latent heat successively into both steaming-retorts A and A and tothe coking retort A The drying-retort A is again heated independentlyand directly. The stop-cocks are shown closed or open by the directionof the parallel lines on the face ofthe circles representing the cocks.It is not intended to feed each of the three steaming-retorts separatelyby superheated steam from the conduit J, but that the superheated steambe let into the retort A, and the generated mixture of steam, water,gas, and ammonia which flows out of the same be used for steaming theretort A by means of the conduit Q, provided with a stop device g, whichconnects the pipe D of each retort with the inlet-pipe C of the nextfollowing, and that the gaseous product of that retort be allowed topass into the retort A from which a mixture of Water, gas, and ammoniaflows into the conduit M, and so on.

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

1. An apparatus for treating nitrogenous substances, comprising an oven,a retort and a feeding-screw in said retort extending outside the samewithin a casing and a socket in said casing for feeding or dischargingthe material, substantially as described.

2. A plant or apparatus for treating nitrogenous substances comprising aseries of ovens, a retort in each oven, means for heating any of saidovens, a steam-inlet for each retort with means for controlling the flowof steam, an outlet-pipe from each retort and a pipe extending from theoutlet-pipe of one retort to the steam-inlet pipe of the next retort,substantially as described.

3. In combination, the series of ovens having heating means, a retort ineach oven, an inlet-pipe c and an outlet-pipe D for each retort, pipesK, L, and M, connected with the outlet-pipes of all the retorts andprovided with suitable cut-off valves, and a pipe Q from the outlet-pipeD of each oven to the inletpipe 0 of the next succeeding oven,substantially as described.

at. An apparatus for treating nitrogenous substances comprising an oven,a rotatable retortin'it, a hollowsocket communicating with the retortand having an eccentric mouth with regard to the axis of the retort,inlet and discharge conduits having openings in the path of the mouth ofsaid socket and means to convey the substances from the socket into theretort and vice versa substantially as de* scribed.

5. An apparatus for treating nitrogenous substances comprising an oven,a rotatable retort in it, a hollow socket communicating with the retortand having an eccentric mouth with regard to the axis of the retort,inlet and discharge conduits having openings in the path of the mouth ofsaid socket and means to convey the substances from the socket into theretort and means to connect air-tight the inlet and outlet conduits withthe socket.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHRISTIAN FELLNER. J OHANN STEIMLE.

WVitnesses as to Christian Fellner:

ROBERT LoHNDoRrF, FRANK WV. MAsoN. W'itnesses as to J. Steimle: CHARLESH. DAY,

HENRY HASPER.

